Without a win in their first 12 Championship matches, Ipswich, who remain bottom, ought to have won their 13th at a canter as they created - and squandered - so many chances after Gareth McAuley headed them into a fourth-minute lead.

They didn't even suffer from the nerves that might have been expected as the final stages unfolded, carving out three glorious opportunities in the final 10 minutes alone.

That was until the final minute of injury time when Watford midfielder Danny Graham curled in a hopeful diagonal cross and Ellington ghosted into space in the Ipswich area to guide his volley past Asmir Begovic and leave East Anglia shaking its collective head.

Keane said: 'We can make excuses and everyone can have a pity party but you have to take your chances. If you don't, this game kicks you in the teeth. But that's why I love football. I love the fact that you get punished when you don't do the business. That's the madness of it and why we're all involved in it.

'I've got no problem with the performance but 13 games without a victory, that's a bad run. It's unacceptable, there's no getting away from it. There is no hiding place, particularly for the manager.'